Highly Successful People Fail The Bar Exam

by Paulina Bandy, Esq.

A presentation at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, by Researcher Sian Beilock, on February 17, 2007, may provide answers to why some highly talented bar candidates have a difficult time passing the bar exam.

“People with a high level of *working memory depend on it heavily during problem solving. If you’ve got it flaunt it. However, that same advantage makes them particularly susceptible to the dangers of stress. In essence, feelings of pressure introduce an intrusion that eats up available working memory for talented people” Beilock said.

These findings have implications in high stakes testing environments, since the gifted people with larger amounts of working memory began using short-cuts to solve problems, such as guessing and estimation. As a result of taking short-cuts, the accuracy of the talented people were undermined. Therefore, the stress of the bar exam may consume cognitive resources that some candidates usually rely on for their superior performance.

At Repeaters' Resource, our tutorials provide stress management tools and exam strategy that curbs short-cut temptations so our highly accomplished candidates can pass the bar exam. To learn more about the differences I am making in Repeater Bar Exam preparation you may contact me directly at: paulina@CBERR.com



*Working memory was derived from the unitary term short-term memory. Working memory refers to the brain system that is responsible for temporary storage and skillful use of information necessary for language comprehension, learning, and reasoning.